Kitty Pryde's Present
by somekindafreaky
Summary: A sequel to Kitty Pryde's Past, by Emerald Lionheart (read that first). Kitty is kidnapped - again! - and runs into Remy - again! Mild romance.


Disclaimer: this disclaimer is currently being developed by 1000 drunken monkeys with typewriters.

.:.

Once upon a time Emerald Lionheart wrote a bee-yootiful story named Kitty Pryde's Past (with the help of her brothers, I believe… shrugs). You should probably read that before you read this… here: Basically it's all about Kitty and how, when she was five, she went to New Orleans and had a brief adventure with a ten-year-old Remy. So cute! Seeing as they were only little there wasn't exactly any romance, but now I've continued it and there shall be!!!

It's ten years later and Kitty is fifteen, and with the X-Men, and Remy is twenty and with the Acolytes. Enjoy!

.:.:.:.:.

"Shadowcat? Are you in position?"

"Yes Jean," she answered into the silver communicator gizmo.

"Alright. You know the drill?"

"Yup."

"Good. Keep your eyes peeled."

Kitty slipped the gadget back into her yellow utility belt and eyed her surroundings warily. It wasn't a particularly important mission – that is, her role in it wasn't particularly important. But it always did to keep a sharp lookout. Particularly when you were the lookout.

They were at a convention, and the-soon-to-be-Senator Kelly was speaking there. She, Jean, and all the New Recruits (minus Bobby) were there acting as body guards. It was doubtful whether Magneto would try anything, but it was wise to take precautions. Plus, it was good experience for the younger students. As an added bonus, Kelly had been very, very annoyed when he'd discovered the X-Men were actually going to help him. He had agreed only when they promised to not alert the press of their having anything to do with him.

Kitty was stationed backstage. She leant against the wooden backdrop, keeping her gaze on the door to the right of her. She didn't have to worry about the other end, as Rhane and Jubilee were both over there.

She sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

She had no idea just how long.

All of a sudden there was a pain to the back of her skull. She keeled over, and the only noise made was that of her limp body hitting the floor.

.:.

Kitty cracked one eye open slowly. There was a throbbing feeling in her head and she groaned softly. She felt that she was lying in a bed, small, but quite comfortable. She knew that she was in her spandex uniform, but couldn't think why she would have gone to sleep still wearing it… There was also something heavy around her throat, pinching her skin.

Then the memory began creeping back into her brain. Very confused and now more than a little frightened, she eased herself up on her elbows and looked blearily around her.

The room was small and rectangular. Its walls, ceiling and floor all appeared to be of an ugly, dirty white colour. The room was empty, apart from the bed, and –

She gave a squeal and back-pedalled into the pillow, staring in alarm at the man who was seated beside her in a chair.

Remy, or Gambit, as she knew him, had been sitting next to her for an hour, since Todd had brought her back. He hadn't needed to; there was no chance of her escaping, what with the impenetrable room and the inhibitor collar they had placed on her. But he had stayed all the same. There was something strange about her, which compelled him.

She didn't bother asking, 'who are you?' because she recognised him as one of Magneto's Acolytes, and that was more than enough for now. Instead she demanded, "Where am I?"

"You are at de Acolyte base," he informed her casually.

"Why?"

He just gave her a look as if to say, 'what a stupid question.'

'Okay, well…' Kitty thought to herself, trying to organise her muddled mind, 'this shouldn't be too hard… I'll just phase down through this bed…'

But when she tried to, nothing happened. She just sat there, Gambit watching her closely. She tried to hide the look of surprise on her face, but apparently didn't succeed, because he said,

"We put a collar on you, Shadowcat. You cannot phase."

Her hands flew to her neck and she immediately felt wretched and helpless. Instinctively she felt for her belt, going to reach for the communicator, but she discovered nothing there. A moment later she spotted it in Gambit's lap. His gaze followed hers and he grinned.

"Not a chance," he told her and she pouted cutely despite him, herself, and the situation. He simply grinned wider, and out of curiosity, started to feel through the belt. She glared at him.

He pulled out an extremely battered pack of cards, and she saw his eyebrows shoot up. She blushed – she had forgotten those were in there. She always just stuck them in there automatically; they made her feel better, more confident. How weird must she look now?

He was examining them carefully now. Her embarrassment turned to indigence and she folded her arms across her chest in annoyance and self-consciousness. "Put those back!" she snapped, attempting to sound like she wasn't frightened.

He looked at her, and his grey eyes penetrated right through her skin. She shivered.

"Is …" he stopped short. What was the point? As if, after all these years, she would just randomly show up, in the most unlikely of scenarios!

"Is what?" she glowered at him.

"Not'in."

She looked at him uncertainly.

The door opened. Framed against the bright light in the hallway, a contrast to the dimness of Kitty's room, was a tall, imposing figure. At first, Kitty didn't know who it was, due to the lack of a bucket-shaped head. But when he stepped into view, she saw that it was Magneto. Besides his bare head, he was in full battle armour. It was strange seeing this old man's face and white hair, with a faint likeness to Pietro.

"Shadowcat," he nodded, and she tensed with fright. Even with her training in hand-to-hand combat, she doubted that she could take Magneto _and_ Gambit without her powers! 'Curse this inhibitation collar!' she thought irritably.

Magneto advanced towards them. "Gambit, I would like you to come introduce our guest to the rest of the team, seeing as she will probably be spending some time here…" Kitty spluttered, but couldn't think of anything to say, "…Bring her to the briefing room, and wait with her there." And with a whisk of his purple cloak, he was gone.

"C'mon, chat d'ombre," he extended his arm to her. She hesitated a moment, taken aback by what he had said. The accent, along with the French words, was like a memory from a dream to her. And then, for lack of anything better to do, she took his arm and allowed him to help her out of bed. Together they made their way down the corridor, and she felt like she was walking to her execution.

.:.

The briefing room was large, square, and had silvery-grey walls. There was a large, oval chrome table in the centre surrounded by metal chairs. Go figure. She sat down stiffly in one of them, and Remy sat beside her. She twitched uncomfortably.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She returned the look he had given her a few minutes earlier and he shrugged, smiling. She turned away, feeling rather unsettled. There was something about that smile – his whole face, in fact.

They waited a few more minutes in silence. She was riddled with tension, but he seemed quite at ease. However, she got the impression that he was always that way. He seemed like a laid-back sort of guy, slicker than an oil spill.

One by one she was introduced to the Acolytes. She was quiet and said little to any of them, suddenly overtaken by shyness. Pyro seemed sort of nice, in a crazy way, Colossus didn't seem too bad either. She kinda got the feeling that he didn't want to be there any more than she did. Sabretooth was absolutely terrifying, and only grunted when he shook her hand. She felt like her whole arm was going to be torn off. She rubbed it soothingly as Gambit led her back to her room – cell – whatever.

She was surprised to find that he stayed with her once inside. Perhaps he had been instructed to keep guard over her, or maybe even entertain her, as he joined her on the bed and pulled out her old pack of cards.

"Game?" he asked, and she shrugged, deciding that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to decline under the circumstances. She wasn't in any position to refuse any of them.

He shuffled in one quick, complicated movement and she blinked as he started dealing straight away. He smirked at her, reading in her expression that she was impressed.

They started to play Blackjack. [A/N – 21, that is. In England Black Jack is the name for what Americans call Crazy Eights!] Kitty felt odd using these particular cards with a stranger – an enemy, no less – as they held rather a lot of sentimental value for her. They, along with her stuffed dragon, were the only things to remind her of ten years ago.

Her memories were hazy – the only thing she remembered perfectly was the boy. He had been so sweet to her, even risking his life to save her. It was her earliest memory. Sometimes she had nightmares about the traumatic part of it, being kidnapped by the Assassins' Guild, and other times she would dream fondly of the friends she had made. She didn't count on ever seeing any of them again. Maybe, one day, she would go back to New Orleans and find them – but it would be quite difficult to track down thieves! And who was to say they even remembered her? Perhaps they were dead – it would be understandable, however terrible a thought it was. Still, she knew that she would keep the promise of giving her first daughter the middle name Annette, in memory of the woman who had died rescuing her.

"Where did you get dese?" Gambit asked her suddenly. She was startled out of her reverie to see that he was examining one of the cards curiously. She also saw that while she had been daydreaming and remembering, she had lost the game spectacularly.

"…" she opened and closed her mouth, then regained her composure, "Why do you, like, ask?" she regarded him suspiciously.

He shrugged, and didn't meet her eyes. "Jus' wonderin'."

"Mm hmm," she murmured vaguely, retrieving the cards from where they were scattered upon the blanket between them. She held them protectively. He watched her.

"So…" she began hesitantly, wanting to change the subject, "when can I go home?"

He looked at her pointedly. "Ah believe you are bein' held fuh ransom, petite."

She gave a start, at the news (which, to be honest, she should have been expecting had she been thinking straight), and at all the memories it brought back. Not only the part about the kidnapping and the ransom, but Gambit's voice, and the nickname 'petite'. It was all getting a little creepy.

"Déjà vu," she mumbled, quivering uneasily.

"Huh?" he snapped his head up.

"Oh," she blushed, not realising she had spoken out loud. "It's like… nothing."

"Non, tell me," he pressed, leaning closer.

She shifted back a fraction. "It's just… this is the second time I've been kidnapped and held for ransom."

"How's that?" he asked, settling back.

"Oh, it was whenI was really small," she answered, not really sure why she was telling him this. Strangely enough, she didn't feel so uncomfortable with him as she had with the other Acolytes, nor as much as she would have expected to.

He was looking at her queerly now and it unnerved her. Then he looked down at the cards in her hands, and then up at her face again.

"What?" she said, freaked out.

He rubbed his forehead almost wearily. He ignored her question. "What was that like? Were you scared?"

She gazed up at him, and said dreamily, "Not really… it was kind of exciting. Cool. Romantic…"

"Romantic?" he grinned. "Being kidnapped?"

She blushed. "Well, I was only five! At the time, I almost wanted to like, stay with the thieves, and not go back to my parents!" she confessed, blushing and feeling quite silly.

"The thieves?" he asked, and was looking at her hard again. She swallowed.

"Well… yeah."

"Where was all dis?" he asked.

"New Orleans," she replied.

He nodded, and now she was sure something bizarre had come over him, for he was staring with a glazed look on his face, into hers. "Nice place isn't it?" he said.

"Yes," she agreed. "It's totally awesome. I guess it's the only place where being kidnapped could possibly be romantic!"

He grinned at her. "Kind of like fighting duels to win the hearts of girls you love, isn't it?"

"Yes," she agreed. "Like Romeo and Juliet."

He grinned wider. "Ever seen Hamlet?"

"Yes. It's quite good, but Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella have always been my favourite movies."

He looked positively ecstatic. "What?" she asked, feeling a bit nervous suddenly, but he didn't answer. 'She has no idea,' he thought. 'I can't believe it.' There was no doubting who she was now. She might not remember this conversation, but he most certainly did.

"You mus' see de play on stage tah ge' de full effect," he said, deliberately toning up his accent and getting the phrase right word for word. He had a photographic memory, at least of those couple of weeks. He had never forgotten her.

Despite his efforts however, she still didn't get it. "I guess," she said.

"Ah know, petite!" he said gleefully, enjoying this very much indeed.

"Do not," she said automatically, just as he had hoped she would, and then she turned pink.

"Uh, sorry," she said, but at the same time he said, "Do too."

"Do not," she replied quickly.

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too! Do too, do too, do too, do too!" Remy crowed, amazed at himself for being so immature but wanting to carry on. She was giggling when he tackled her. She squealed and fell off the side of the bed, him on top of her. He started to tickle her.

"Stop!" she gasped, "You win!"

He stopped abruptly, and so did she, staring up at his face which was less than an inch away.

Before he could speak, she had scrambled out from underneath him, and leapt to her feet. He stood too, and she eyed him warily.

'It couldn't be,' she thought wildly, 'no way, it's totally a coincidence. I mean, he's the right age, he has the right accent (except it's a bit more New Yorky than before), and he sort of looks the same… but those eyes… Remy had those amazing black and red eyes…'

He looked at her, and saw that she was staring into his eyes as if willing them to change. He guessed what she must be thinking, and reached up. She watched in silence and he removed his contacts, then dropped his hand to reveal the demon eyes which had haunted her sleepless nights.

There was a moment's silence, which seemed to last ten minutes. Kitty's heart was thudding against her chest and she could hardly digest what was happening. And then a surge of emotion overwhelmed her, and she launched herself at him.

He toppled backwards onto the bed, stunned. But then, as she buried her face in his chest, he smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

"Kitty," he said, addressing her by her name for the first time… well… ever.

"Remy," she said, as she breathed in his scent. He smelled more of cologne and cigarettes than he had at age ten, of course, but there was still that underlying musk that was simply him. Evidently her subconscious had remembered it all these years, for it brought back wonderful memories and she felt happier than she had in goodness knows how long.

"Long time no see," Remy said quietly, sitting up slightly and pulling her with him so they could look at each other's faces.

"Uh huh," she nodded, suddenly shy and embarrassed by what she had just done. "I've, uh, missed you."

"Me too," he said, to her relief.

"I'm surprised you still remember me."

"How could I forget such a pretty face?"

She blushed again and sighed against his cheek.

"Still have that dragon?" he asked.

She giggled. "Yeah. I named him Lockheed."

He smiled, not knowing what it meant but reckoning that it sounded quite cute anyway.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you two are getting along so well, but it is time for Katherine to leave."

They looked up, taken by surprise, and saw Magneto standing there once again. To the side of him was Pyro, wearing a mad grin. Remy and Kitty's eyes slid towards each other, they realised their position and jumped apart.

Grinning wolfishly, Sabretooth stepped forward and reached for Kitty's arm, which she jerked away with a little bit of fright. He shrugged, before picking her up roughly and swinging her over his shoulder. She gasped, but was fairly helpless despite her squirming.

Sabretooth then stepped out of the room, following Magneto and followed by Remy.

"Where're you takin' her?" Remy asked, looking suspicious.

"The X-Men are on their way," Magneto informed him frankly. "She needs to be taken down to the cells."

Remy stopped and Kitty could immediately sense his uneasiness.

"Don' you t'ink that's a little unnecessary?" Remy demanded, passing Sabretooth and Kitty to fall into step beside his boss.

"You know it isn't," he replied impatiently. "They can't reach her or all our efforts will have been in vain."

Kitty was now wriggling and writhing for all her worth. She didn't like where this conversation – and all of them – were heading. They had gone down many flights of stairs, ever making their way further down, deeper into the ground, and each floor was darker and more eerie than the last.

As she kicked and pummelled uselessly with her hands, Sabretooth grew more frustrated and started to look like he would skin her alive. He dropped her to her feet heavily, clasping her round the arm tightly with his claws. She tried to pull back but simply couldn't. He extended his claws towards her breast, but didn't get very far. Magneto and Gambit had both noticed, and Magneto sent Sabretooth backward with a brief wave of his hand. Remy caught Kitty under her arms before she buckled over in shock. He took her hand and led her the rest of the way.

Finally they arrived in a corridor, which reminded Kitty unsettlingly of the one in the mental hospital in the Hannibal Lector movies. The only light came from a naked bulb over their heads.

"You can leave us now, Gambit," commanded Magneto airily. He wasn't so much disobeyed as ignored.

Kitty decided that her cell was the most dismal thing she had ever seen. As the solid metal door was creaked open with Magneto's mind, they were greeted by solid darkness. Promptly, Sabretooth pushed her inside, the door was slammed shut behind her and she was plummeted into black.

Breathing shakily, she reached out, hoping to find some walls. Instead she just stumbled forwards.

She discovered that the wall was some four metres from the door. It was clammy and extremely vile to touch, so she didn't go searching for the other two. She just huddled in a ball, in what she reckoned was the centre of the room, her face buried in her knees and her entire body trembling. She had never been so scared. To top it all off, the floor was damp, the whole place was freezing cold, and there was an unpleasant odour in the air. Speaking of air… 'How much oxygen is in this place???'

.:.

Kitty was awoken by an explosion. She opened her eyes and espied a bright light contrasting the rest of the emptiness. Quickly it faded away, but not before she saw Remy framed against it. As the light ebbed into blackness once again, she felt an arm pulling her to her feet. She rubbed her neck, groaning. Not only had she dozed off in an uncomfortable position, the darn collar was rubbing against her skin.

"What's going on?" she asked as he pushed her toward the door.

"Ah'm takin' you away, bebelle," he propelled her out of the door and checked the corridors quickly for any signs of people approaching.

"What? Where? Why?" she asked sleepily, dragging her feet along by his side. Eventually he just picked her up in a fireman's lift and ran with her along.

"Magneto is plannin' somethin'… not good," he told her grimly, as they came to the end of the corridor, and he sprinted up the stairs. Apparently her small weight made absolutely no difference to him.

She cuddled closer in fright and he squeezed her reassuringly.

"You'll have t' walk now," he said, and regretfully placed her down as they went through the door.

"Remy, where are we going??" she pleaded.

He was silent as they zigzagged their way up staircases, through empty rooms, down hallways. He was clearly concentrating on not being seen. She followed his lead gladly.

At last they came to another door – it was metal, as the others had all been. Remy picked the lock fairly easily and the two of them emerged into … yet more darkness.

"What time is it?" Kitty asked.

Remy finally spoke. "Two a.m."

That made sense, after all, Kitty had been kidnapped in the evening, plus she didn't know how long she had been sleeping. She wanted to ask what had happened at Senator Kelly's speech, but decided against it. Remy appeared to be concentrating once again.

He tightened his hold on her hand and the two of them went stealthily down the side of the building, which Kitty hadn't seen from the outside before. They made a good team – both silent as mice, Kitty even without her incorporeal tangibility.

They rounded the front of the house and, like shadows, sneaked across the length of the lawn, coming to the tall, sinister wrought iron gates.

"Up you go," said Remy, and before Kitty knew what was going on he had grabbed her. He slipped one hand under her boot, and steadied her with the other on her hip. In one smooth movement he sprang her upwards and she caught the top of the gate, balancing precariously on top of it. Then she leant down and caught Remy's hand. He was very heavy, but she was able to help him scramble up too. Together they dropped down on the other side.

She paused to brush herself off, but he was pulling her along the pavement again. She could hardly see where she was going, but by the faint light of the moon she spotted a motorbike in front of them.

"On the back," he nodded to her, and she climbed on behind him uncertainly. Without so much as a warning, the bike roared into life and they shot off like a bullet. She gave a yelp and held onto him hard.

He grinned despite the whole dreadful situation. It had been a very eventful evening.

With her eyes closed the whole journey, she didn't realise where they were until they screeched to a halt. She raised her head from where it had been resting on his back, and blinked through the night. There were more street lamps here, and she could make out in the distance the lights of a large house – she was home!

"So soon?" she smiled wryly, remembering.

"Very funny," Remy smiled back, climbing off and pulling her with him.

"I am funny."

"To look at." She slapped his arm lightly and he caught her in a hug.

She sighed and let her arms rest around his neck. When she breathed he felt his hair flutter, and his skin prickle pleasantly. He lifted his head and looked at her. She smiled nervously.

"Goodbye, petite chat," he said quietly.

"Goodbye Remy--" she gasped. "I forgot--!"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips, at which she scowled, then laughed. Reaching into his trench coat pocket, he drew out the pack of cards he had given her ten years ago.

She took them, smiling and blushing, then said, "I was talking about my belt."

He grinned. "I couldn't remember everythin'. Don' I even get a thank you? Have any idea how much trouble I'll be in?"

She giggled, even though she knew he was serious. "Thank you. Like… a lot!" She exhaled heavily.

"Till next time, petite," he said softly. He didn't want to leave her yet. Hell, he didn't want to leave her, ever. It went beyond wanting to have a little fun with her, which he did with all pretty girls. He had befriended her when she was young, and even _he_ hadn't been interested in girls, and now she had grown into a beautiful young woman. He couldn't believe they were parting again.

"It better not be ten years again, mister!" she scolded playfully.

He smirked. "Just in case it is…" he bent and kissed her. She blinked in astonishment, but then returned it. It was sweet and soft, but it lingered almost a minute. He ran his hands down her sides, wanting to get the feel of her before she went away, like before.

When they broke apart, she was blushing. She almost wanted to phase through the ground – and she would have, if she had been able to. She only hoped Dr McCoy would be able to get rid of the damn collar.

Remy stepped away, and mounted his bike as Kitty rang the doorbell. She waved, and he grinned again before taking off into the night.


End file.
